High speed meat slicing machines which as are contemplated herein have been available in commerce for many years, and the ANCO Model 827 may be particularly instanced. Such machines in their most rudimentary form comprise a continuously rotating blade in the shape of an involute disc, and a normally continuously advancing feed platform for urging bulk product into contact with the disc. It is often desired to accumulate slices cut from the slicing machine so as to form a stack for packaging. In such stacks the slices may typically be vertically concentred, or as an alternative fanned out. In both cases the stacks require to be separated. In one commonly employed method, the slicing is interrupted for a brief period during which a stacker conveyor is activated to remove an accumulated stack of slices.
The thickness of slices can be normally controlled within low tolerance limits when the slicing machine is operated continuously at relatively low speeds, eg. 100 slices per minute. When the feed is interrupted it is found that the tolerance in the thickness control is much higher, particularly when the slicing machine is operated at high speeds, eg. 200 slices per minute or in excess thereof.
The present invention particularly contemplates apparatus and method for slicing and accumulating very thin slices of chip steaks such as are currently utilized commercially for very high speed cooking operations. Such slices prior to cooking have a thickness typically in the range 0.06 inches to about 0.012 inches (1.5 mm to 0.3 mm); several slices together forming one meat filling for a hamburger or the like. It will be appreciated that such thicknesses approach the variation from the nominal thickness of thicker slices that are cut using traditional methods. It will further be appreciated that high speeds of operation are essential if the procedure is to be economically sound. Chip steaks are quite friable in nature even where of significantly greater thickness than that indicated above. Whilst it is desirable that the individual slices of a stack be of uniform thickness, this is not a pre-requisite; rather it is required that the several slices together form a stack of easily controlled, uniform thickness. For ease of handling, I find it desirable to slice the first slice of a stack somewhat more thickly than the remaining slices so as to act as a carrier therefor. This may be compensated for by commensurately reducing the thickness of one or more of the remaining slices of a stack; in practise it is desirable that just one slice thereof, normally the last slice, be reduced in thickness by a compensating amount. It will be appreciated that the cutting blade of the slicing machine, which rotates rapidly within a protective housing, functions also as an air propellor. The created air movement increases the settling period of the thin slices whereby this approaches the available time for conveying an accumulated stack from the stacker. Whilst it is possible to idle the cutting blade for a longer period between cutting the last slice of one stack and the first slice of the next stack, this is inimical with high production rates.